To Nurture
by smilingcheerios
Summary: Naruto loved his plants.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto

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To Nurture  
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Naruto loved his plants.

He had several in various places around his apartment that he had gathered over the years. They provided a sense of feeling and _life_ that counteracted the rest of his apartment that was so drab and life_less_. They were a comfort to him; and they made him happy. He loved taking care of his plants. He made sure to give them all the love and care they needed.

He supposed this might surprise some people. Some probably didn't think he _could_ actually care for something else (how could a _monster_ like _him_ have such feelings?). Others probably didn't believe he had the patience or tenderness to care for plants properly. He knew he was rather scatter brained and had, frankly, the attention span of a small child, but he always had attention for his plants. And he would gladly explain why to anyone who asked.

If he thought back, Naruto would have to guess that it started with Old Man Hokage. The old man had been the one to give him his first plant (the one on the window sill there, isn't it doing well?). The Third had said something about gaining life lessons by taking care of something else but Naruto hadn't really been paying attention; he had been too overwhelmed by the thought of receiving his first gift. A gift for_ him_, no less. He did recall that the old man had told him to take good care of it, along with some basic instructions on how to do so. And so Naruto made sure he gave the best care possible to this small plant. He could not disappoint the old man.

At first he watered it faithfully, made sure it had enough sunlight and watched it constantly. But, well, he _did_ get bored; it just sat there and didn't seem to change _at all_. He began to care for it less and forget about it completely. Until one day he noticed it wilting.

And he panicked.

Old Man Hokage had been counting on him to care for this one plant! He _had_ to make the old man proud. He apologized to the plant ('I'm sorry! I'm sorry!'); he begged ('Please don't die!'); and he promised it ('I'll never take bad care of you again!'). He began to care for the plant closely again, nurturing it back to health.

Every day he would check on it and watch it for a while. He would talk to it. It wasn't like there was anyone else around to talk to, or who would listen. And his plant always listened, and it never said mean things. It became his friend. He would tell it the things he did during the day, share his fears and dreams with it, and tell it he loved it.

Eventually he noticed that it had grown. This made Naruto immensely happy. Every time he saw his plant he would give a loud 'whoop' and bear a proud smile. He praised the plant and encouraged it with pep talks and kind words. And he made sure to continue nurturing it as much as possible.

One day, during a conversation with his plant, he came to the conclusion that his plant was probably lonely when he wasn't around and it most definitely needed some friends. After all, he knew how bad it was to be lonely and there was no way he would subject that to anyone, or anything, else. After scrounging around and cutting back on Ramen he was able to increase the number of his plant companions.

As the number of his plants grew, he made sure to spend an equal amount of attention on each one. He continued to talk to them, encouraging them to grow and always telling them that he believed in them and loved them. They became his pride and joy, his children.

And he loved them. He _needed_ them. He needed them because they needed him. And in that way, they saved him. Because even if no one else wanted him, if he was cast aside by everyone, his plants _needed_ him; needed_ him_. It was for all these reasons that Naruto loved his plants. They gave him life, gave him companionship, gave him something that would listen, gave him a purpose, and gave him something to love; to nurture. So Naruto thanked the plants, every day, for being there, for needing him, by taking care of them and lovingly nurturing them.

Yes, if anyone would care to ask, Naruto would gladly explain and then they would understand why he loved his plants.

But no one ever asked.

Naruto sometimes wondered if someone were to ask, would they make the connection. The connection that it applies to people too.

After all, all Naruto ever wanted was some attention.

A little nurturing.

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A/N- So how was it? I'd love to hear what you thought so please review.  
This is my first fanfiction, so please be kind but feel free to offer constructive criticism and suggestions. This hasn't been looked over by anyone but myself so I hope most of the grammar/spelling is correct.  
I hope Naruto is in character... This was inspired by the plants you see in Naurto's apartment as well as in another fanfiction there was a mention of someone being surprised at how well taken care of the plants in his apartment were (I've forgotten which fanfiction it was now... sorry!) I can really see Naruto taking good care of plants he owns, which lead to this little one-shot.  
Thanks for reading!


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